Undercover
by SP22
Summary: Naruto encounters Hinata and Neji in a dark alley. Hinata is disowned from her clan. Naruto and Hinata are sent on an undercover mission to the Land of Rice Patties. They disguise themselves as newly weds while they investigate a mysterious drug ring. Along the way, Naruto discovers that he and Hinata are not all that different.


A story about Naruto and Hinata. Subtle Romance. Non-canon. Neji written a little OOC.

_ FAMILY _

It was 2:36 am in Konoha. Most of its residents tucked away safely in their beds. A little ways down an abandoned side street, two shadowy figures could be seen stumbling in the distance — one appeared swaying and leaning on the other for support. The first figure, the one who was swaying, was tall with a lean muscular build and long hair. The second was shorter, curvier figure. Not much else could be identified about these two figures except for one thing: both had light, pale eyes that glistened in the moonlit night.

"Neji… please— keep your voice down" the smaller of the two figures whispered.

"Shut up you stupid bitch" he said, slurring his words heavily.

"I—I'm sorry Neji. I'm just trying to get you back to the compound safely."

"NO!" Neji's voice shot up exponentially and he pointed a harsh finger down at the timid girl.

"You were trying to ruin my night. You took my place at the head of the clan and now you want to take my fun away too! You want to take EVERYTHING from ME"! His voice continued to climb and his body movements became more extreme.

The young woman staggered over, attempting to place a hand over his mouth to keep him from waking the entire village. This quick motion must have startled him because he swung his arm in response and slapped her clear across the face. She fell back. The sound of his open palm hitting her cheek followed by her yelping and falling to the ground was enough to stir one Ninja from his slumber.

Just a few seconds prior and only a few yards away, Naruto was fast asleep in his bed. He jolted up at the sound of the yelp and jumped to his feet shortly thereafter. He peeked out his bedroom window and saw two familiar figures.

'Neji and Hinata?' He thought to himself, confused, 'What are they doing out this late?' He took a glance at the clock before his eyes were pulled immediately back to the figures outside.

"Get up." Neji barked.

Hinata did not look at up at him. She stayed still on the ground, light sniffles coming from behind her veil of hair.

"I said get up— Hinata!" He barked again. This time louder.

Still she did nothing.

This time Neji lunged toward her, preparing his hand to strike her again.

"You stupid bi—"

**POW**!

Before Neji could land another blow, something had hit him square in the face. He had barely seen it coming. He stumbled back and fell down. Reaching up a hand to wipe his face, he saw blood.

"M-My nose!" He slurred. "Y-You broke my nose". It took him a moment to focus his vision but when he looked up he saw a yellow haired ninja standing in the middle of the street wearing bright orange pajamas.

Hinata was behind Naruto, still knelling on the ground. She had barely seen what happened herself and was rapidly trying to make sense of what she had just seen.

"What do you think you're doing, Neji!?" Naruto scowled down at the bloodied ninja.

"Mind your own business" Neji snorted, wiping the blood from his face and stumbling to his feet. "This doesn't concern you, brat!". He spat down at the ground by Naruto's feet.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto scowled and grabbed Neji by the collar of his shirt before bringing him in bringing so the two were face to face. "I don't think I like your business Neji Hyuuga". For a brief moment, Neji thought he saw Naruto's eyes flicker red and even in his inebriated state, thought it would be best to leave while he still could.

Naruto shoved Neji off and sent him stumbling down the street toward the Hyuuga compound. He then turned his attention to the kunoichi behind him on the ground.

"Are you okay Hinata?" He knelt down beside her. She turned bright red and was attempting to keep her face hidden.

"Y-Yes. Thank you Naruto. You really didn't have to do—"

"Are you kidding!?— Hinata, he hit you! I couldn't let him get away with that". Naruto inspected Hinata's cheek. It was definitely red, equally from the impact and the fact that he was so close to her, and wet from the tears, but likely would not leave a mark.

"C'mon" Naruto stood up and reached out his hand to help her off the ground. "Come inside. I'll make you some ramen. That always makes me feel better". He chuckled as she rose up next to him, the blush failing to subside. She was still in shock over what occurred in the last few minutes.

'How did walking Neji home turn into eating ramen with Naruto!?' She thought as she entered his humble apartment gazing around around. It was a small studio with limited amenities. He had a small bed, an old couch and a microwave that sat on top of a mini refrigerator.

"Have a seat" Naruto said, motioning to the couch. "I'll cook us up some grub".

Hinata shuffled over to the couch and sat at the edge of one side. She thought about how different Naruto's home was from her own and then her mind drifted back to Neji.

"I hope he gets home okay". She thought, not meaning to say it aloud.

"Huh?" Naruto glanced over at her as he reached for two cups of instant ramen. "Are you talking about Neji? What's gotten into him?"

Hinata let out a heavy sigh and struggled to get the words out of her throat. "He's been drinking a lot lately… Ever since he found out about his father, he's had a hard time dealing with it. He wanted to go out to the bars tonight and my father instructed me to go with him… to keep an eye on him". Hinata shook her head and dropped it down below her shoulders.

"He just got so out of control". She said, tears beginning to form again. "He got kicked out of the bar and could barely walk. I tried to help him— but he just… hates me so much…"

Naruto, sensing the sadness in her voice, took a seat next to her on the couch. "How could he hate you? You're family." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder. The overwhelming sadness prevented Hinata from succumbing to her usual shyness around him being so close to her.

"Sometimes it doesn't feel like I have a family at all." Hinata sobbed as the words escaped her mouth.

This stunned Naruto. The Hyuugas had always been one of Konoha's most reputable clans and one of the oldest and most noble families. For years, he thought about what an honor it must be to belong to such a family— but seeing Hinata in front of him now reminded him of himself and how he too felt alone in this world— without a family.

**-BEEP-**

The sound of the microwave went off. It startled Naruto out of his daze and he jumped up to retrieve the steaming hot ramen. He handed one to HInata, along with a pair of chopsticks and then reclaimed the seat next to her.

"Cheers" Naruto bumped their ramen cups together. "To being without families" He said with a sort of sad chuckle. For a moment, Hinata regretted saying anything about her family. How could she be so selfish not to appreciate the family she had. Afterall, at least she had a family— unlike Naruto.

To her surprise, the first sip of ramen broth did seem to lessen the intensity of her emotional pain.

They sat in silence for a few moments, slurping their ramen. Naruto was the first to finish his meal and the first to break the silence.

"Wow can you believe it's already almost 4 a.m!?" He glanced over at the clock with surprise and stretched his arms toward the ceiling.

"I'm sorry to have kept you up all night" Hinata said as she set down her empty ramen cup.

"Actually, this is the time I normally get up to train!"

"Really" Hinata looked up at him with an impressed look on her face

"Yeah" He chuckled "Gotta work hard if I want to be Hokage some day!" He gave Hinata his classic 'Uzumaki thumbs up' pose. Her blush returned with a vengeance, but she was feeling braver than normal. Perhaps it was the ramen.

"Um- Naruto?" Hinata shifted around in her seat, avoiding his gaze.

"What is it Hinata?" He said, leaning down to try and get a better look at her face.

"Do you think I could go train with you today? I'm not quite ready to go back to the Hyuuga compound yet".

"Sure!" He broke out into a beaming smile. "I almost never have a training partner!"

_ TRAINING _

It was 4:15 a.m. by the time Naruto and Hinata reached the training field. The air was brisk and the ground damp.

Naruto placed his bag of gear down on the ground and turned around to face Hinata, cracking his knuckles. "Well?" He grinned "Let's see what your byakugan can do!" Before she had time get into a ready position, Naruto had already launched himself up into the trees and shouted out "Shadow Clone Jutsu". Within seconds, a fleet of Naruto clones launched their way through the sky and hid themselves among the trees.

She let out a small chuckle at his excitement. He must really be eager to train with someone.

She clasped her hands together and focused her mind… "Byakugan!" She whispered.

She scanned her surroundings carefully and identified.. .thirteen… no fourteen… no— fifteen shadow clones!

'Very impressive, Naruto'. She thought to herself, blushing lightly.

Hinata grabbed a few decoy kunai knives from Naruto's bag and sent them flying into the air toward the shadow clones. Her first throw missed but the next ones landed perfectly as she heard the 'poof' sound of the clones disappearing one by one. Naruto began to scatter his clones farther away up into the trees and even sent a few decoy kunai knives back at her. She dodged them with ease all while maintaining her focus with the byakugan and throwing the knives.

She located and destroyed all 15 clones in about 2 minutes. After she had completed this, the real Naruto jumped back down to the ground and greeting her with a high five.

"Alright Hinata! Awesome job!" He ran down to give her a high five. "Some of my clones were really far away and you still got 'em!"

"Thank you!" She smiled, the blush on her cheeks intensifying. "You too!"

"Hey, I was wondering.. how can you tell my shadow clones from the real me?"

"Um… well…" She stuttered. "You see… you have a very distinct chakra flow. It's not replicated over to your shadow clones but instead it's almost like your clones are extending off of you like branches on a tree. If I follow the branches, they lead me back to the source— or in this case, you!"

"Wow!" He gaped at her with an open mouth. "That's so cool, Hinata!" He leaned back against a tree. "I was afraid you were gonna say that you could see me naked or something!" He chuckled and gazed up at the clouds, failing to see the blush he had just elicited from Hinata.

The two shinobi continued training for another several hours, stopping to talk and rest intermittently. It was the most the two had ever talked— and much to the surprise of both of them, Hinata was talking too!

Naruto's laugh carried far above the trees, where a certain Jonin ninja was watching the two carefully.

"Hmmm…" The white haired Jonin pondered. "They might just be the perfect pair for Lord Fifth's mission."

_ SUMMONED _

On the other side of Konoha, Kakashi was summoned into Lady Tsunade's office.

"Well?" Tsunade said, not even turning to face him, as her head was buried in a scroll.

"I think I found the perfect pair of shinobi for your little undercover operation." He said, leaning casually against the door frame with a book in one hand.

"It's not some 'little' operation, Kakashi. It's a major underground drug ring and these shinobi better be cut out for the job". She slammed the scroll down onto the desk.

"Oh I'm sure they'll do just fine" He said in a smug tone

"Who is it then?" Tsunade was starting to get impatient.

"Hinata Hyuuga…" Kakashi began. Tsunade nodded in approval. "and… Naruto…" Tsunade's eyes shot open and she coughed as if she had choked in her own spit. "… Uzumaki".

"You can't be serious!" She said, attempting to regain her composure. "That punk!? Go on an undercover A rank mission!?"

"Sure, he's a little reckless, but who better to keep him in line than an experienced stealth kunoichi like Hinata… besides, I think they'll really sell that whole 'newlyweds' undercover idea you had going."

Tsunade pondered for a moment. He had a point. "Very well. Bring them in."

By this time, Naruto and Hinata were enjoying an early lunch down on the training field. They had stopped by one of the restaurants in the village to pick up some rice cakes before resuming their training. Naruto was in the middle of telling Hinata about his adventures with the pervy sage, Jiraya, when Kakashi approached them.

"Greetings you two!" Kakashi said in a cheerful tone. "Enjoying your afternoon?"

"Hey Kakashi sensei!" Naruto waved, bits of rice cake flying out of his mouth. Hinata opted just to wave her hand as she chewed her bite.

"By the looks of it, you two have been working hard". Kakashi scanned the nearby trees. There were signs of intense training, evident by the footprints scattered among tree trunks and scratches from the decoy kunai knives skimming the bark and nearby branches.

"Yeah!" Naruto said, enthusiastically. "Hinata and I have been training since dawn this morning!"

"Well, I'm happy to see you two have hit it off so well." This remark went straight over Naruto's head but had caused Hinata to nearly choke on her rice cake and practically turn purple for a brief moment. Kakashi smiled down at her.

"Anyways, it's lucky I ran into you two. Lady Tsunade has actually asked me to escort you to her office, she has a mission for the two of you."

"A mission!?" Naruto leaped up with excitement. "For us!? Did you hear that Hinata! Lady Tsunade wants to send us on a mission! Ooooh, I wonder what it could be?"

At this point, Hinata was just happy to have an excuse to avoid going home for a little while longer— and to spend more time with Naruto. What awaited her back home was surely an explosive lecture from her father. What had Neji told him? What would her father do to punish Hinata for Naruto breaking Neji's nose? She shook the thought from her mind. This had, without a doubt, been the most bizarre 12 hours of Hinata's life. By this standard, it couldn't get much weirder. Right?

"Lets not keep her waiting". Kakashi said in his usual lighthearted tone as he started walking away. Naruto scrambled to finish his rice cake and pack up the remnants of his gear as hastily as he could before grabbing Hinata by the arm and dragging her to catch up with Kakashi. "Alright!" He yelled enthusiastically.

_ MISSION _

The three of them stood silently in Lady Tsunade's office for a few moments while she ruffled through some papers on her desk. Hinata and Kakashi stood at attention, while Naruto was trying his best to contain his excitement by bouncing his shoulders and making intense eye contact with Tsunade, hoping to will her to speak.

"I'm assuming Kakashi has told you why you're here"

"Yes ma'am Grandma Tsu—I mean lady Hokage" Naruto corrected himself, not wanting to piss her off and get thrown off the mission. "You have an assignment for Hinata and I."

"That's correct". She nodded. "An 'A' Rank mission in the Land of Rice Patties".

"'A' Rank mission, huh?" Naruto grinned. "Are we gonna get to kick some bad guys butts or something?"

"No." Tsunade replied flatly. "It's a recon mission. You'll be going undercover to gather information about a secret drug ring that's been poisoning the town."

"Recon mission? Undercover? That sounds so boring!" Naruto moaned.

"Shut up, you brat!" Tsunade hissed. "This is a serious matter! We are allies with the Land of Rice Patties and we have sworn to protect their people. Whoever these drug lords are, they're very dangerous people. We can't risk going in hastily and scaring them off. We have to stop them— you hear me!?"

Naruto had no response. Clearly he was getting on board with what Tsunade was saying.

"Hinata" Tsunade said, shifting her attention to the kunoichi who was nervously stroking her hair.

"y-yes ma'am?"

"I know this is your first 'A' Rank mission, but your byakugan makes you extremely qualified for this mission. Additionally, I trust you'll be able to keep Naruto here in line." She rubbed her temples impatiently.

"Y-you said this would be an undercover mission?" Hinata asked in a mousy voice.

"Ah yes. You and Naruto will be going undercover as a newly wed couple and will be staying at a local Inn. It's one of the only tourist attractions in the Land of Rice Patties, so it's the best cover we've got."

Hinata's face turned beat red and everything after the phrase 'newly wed couple' was a blur. 'Is this actually happening!?' She thought.

"Wait a minute!" Naruto interrupted. "Newly weds? Does that mean we'll be sharing a room? What about Hinata's privacy!? And this Inn, won't they recognize us as Leaf Village shinobi? Not much of a cover if you ask me."

"Excellent point Naruto…" Tsunade said, approaching him. She placed one hand on his shoulder and made a hand sign with the other. "Appearance altering jutsu" she yelled. Instantly, Naruto's hair shifted from blonde to brown, and grew a bit in length. His eyes turned a dark shade of umber and the whiskers on his cheeks became less pronounced, yet did not completely disappear. His height and build remained mostly the same.

"Whoa!" Naruto ran his fingers through his hair. "Grandma Tsunade! That jutsu is amazing".

Tsunade walked over to Hinata next and repeated the same steps. Hinata's hair shrunk up to shoulder length and turned light shade of brown. Her eyes shifted from their misty purple color to an icy blue. Hinata and Naruto both stared at each other, taking in the changes that had just occurred.

"For the duration of this mission, you will hence be known as Nagato and Hanami Tanji. These are your undercover names. Use them at all times during this mission. Do you understand?"  
"Yes Ma'am" the two shinobi repeated in unison.

"Good. Then let's not waste anymore time. It takes approximately a day and a half to get to the Land of Rice Patties and the Inn has been informed that you're traveling from the Land of Waterfalls. I suggest you go collect your things and leave the village before the sundown."

Naruto nodded and he and Hinata left the Hokage's office, neither of them knowing what to say to the other as they walked outside toward their respective residences.

Finally, Naruto spoke. "Hinata, why don't we stop by my place first, then I can go with you to collect your things, y'know, incase Neji's there." He scratched the back of his neck, not wanting to seem pushy or over-protective. Hinata simply nodded, unsure of how to show her appreciation for this gesture. Naruto's house was on their path anyway.

The two re-entered Naruto's apartment. He set his bag down on the couch and rummaged through the fridge, grabbing a few handfuls food. He threw a few articles of clothing in the bag, haphazardly and zipped it up with ease. Even with the addition of new items on top of his shinobi gear, the bag was hardly full. "Well, that's everything for me. Let's get a move on, so we can make part of the journey while it's still light out."

The time was now 5:13 pm. The Hyuuga compound was on the way out of the village. Hinata's heart started to tighten at the thought of going in there. She was already planning out the items she was going to pack in order to ensure she could be in and out as fast as possible— without being seen.

When they reached the outside, Naruto noticed a giant sign on the door that forbid any non-Hyuuga member from entering. "Sooo I guess I'll wait out here?" He chuckled awkwardly.

"I'll be right back!" She nodded as she slipped through the doorway quickly and quietly. She had managed to make it to her room without drawing the attention of anyone else in the compound, despite her how altered appearance. She grabbed a bag from under her bead and proceeded to pack with haste. She grabbed for her ninja gear first, ensuring she had all of the necessary stealth equipment for this particular recon mission. She grabbed a set of spare clothes and a pair of pajamas. She even remembered to grab a first aid kit from her bathroom, just in case they needed it on their mission. With the space she had left, she even managed to carry a small ninja tent and blanket. She exited her room and was preparing to close the door behind her when she heard the booming sound of her father's deep voice.

"Hinata…" he droned. Even with her altered appearance, he recognized her instantly. He must have used his Byakugan to identify her chakra signature.

"Y-yes F-father?" She said, bowing her head as a sign of respect and also attempting to hide her altered appearance from him out of fear he would take offense.

"What has gotten into you Hinata?"

She couldn't reply. The words were buried deep in her throat and her eyes were already welling up with tears.

"First, that fox demon broke Neji's nose…Now you come to my home, your appearances altered looking as though you're about to run away with him?" He scowled.

"How dare you associate yourself with that demon. How dare you bring him to the gates of our home!" He hissed, pointing to the front gate.

"W-we have a m-mission" She managed to stutter out a few words.

"Likely story." He hissed again. "I've already talked to Neji… a shinobi striking another shinobi is a punishable act. I will be bringing this up with the Hokage."

"Go ahead!" She retorted, her voice more steady and firm. "Naruto did the right thing! He was protecting me!"

Her father raised a hand as though he was prepared to slap her, but instead of bringing his arm down to make contact with Hinata's body, he pointed firmly at the gate.

"OUT!" He yelled.

"This is the last time you will disgrace this family, Hinata!"

She scurried toward the front gate. Just as she managed to make it outside of the compound she heard her father yell, "You are disowned!"

His words vibrated off of the walls of the compound. Naruto turned around to face Hinata, her eyes flooded with tears. She collapsed on the ground, sobbing. Naruto softened his gaze and knelt down beside her. "I'm so sorry Hinata…" he said, patting the back of her head.

Hinata wiped her tears off on her sleeve and rose to her feet.

"We have to focus on the mission". She sniffled. Naruto was surprised at how quickly she pulled herself together. For just being disowned by her own family, she was keeping her composure rather well. "Right." He said quietly. "Let's go!" Without thinking, he grabbed her hand and lead them away from the compound and into the forrest.

Hey you! Yes you! Thank you for reading. I appreciate you taking time out of your day to enjoy this story.

I wanted to talk a little bit about the undercover names that I chose for Hinata and Naruto and why I chose them.

華未～ Hanami ～

meaning:

"華" is flower. "未" is not yet.

For Hinata, I liked this name and how it's written because I think in many ways Hinata is a flower that has not yet bloomed. She's still coming into her own and finding her strength and place in the world.

永人～ Nagato ～

meaning:

"永" is forever and ever. "人" is human.

For Naruto, although he possesses the demon, he also possesses the most human-like qualities of all the characters in the Naruto universe. His loneliness and desire to belong to something bigger than himself as well as protect those he cares about is what makes him "eternally human"!

Now, onto the next chapter!


End file.
